Tuesday, May 26, 2009
Crows and Pickup Trucks
Driving in to work one morning in May I spied a crow on the back of a pickup truck parked in the lot. This crow was having the best time walking around the edge of the bed checking out the contents. Every now and then he'd hop and swoop down to inspect the contents with his beak. Crows are great foragers in our urban environments. I'm hoping he found some tasty leftovers. -- Jenny
Under the Eaves
So many of our libraries now include cafe's that I feel mine has been left out of the revolution. University of Arizona in Tucson has such fine weather that the coffee spot is enclosed under the eaves with the dining space out in the open, though still under the eaves in the shade. It was a delightful place to have lunch in March. -- Jenny
Handouts
While visiting libraries I found myself dithering about taking handouts. As I analyzed this inhibiting feeling I discovered a few things. First that proximity to authority made a great deal of difference. If the handouts were located ON the desk, I was less likely to take one. If they were located (as the ones are in this picture-Provo City Public Library) away from the close supervision of librarians, I would take one of everything. (Ask me about my binders of handouts sometime).
Another factor was number of handouts available. If there were only a few, say 5 or so, I was less likely to take a handout for fear of shorting someone who really needed one. On the other hand, if it was a spectacular handout such as the "Squeaky Clean and No Caffeine" I'd take it anyway. So style/substance did make a difference. If it was more generic/informative I would leave it if there were only a few.
Lastly, and building on the above if the handouts were branded with the library logo/info in an attractive way I definitely wanted it. I was also fascinated by the different donor type brochures, though few libraries included these items in their general handout racks in the public areas.
In summary:
1. Make your handouts/brochures attractive and give them appealing or catchy names/titles.
2. Locate them in visible areas away from the official service desks.
3. Include the types for making donations/gifts to the library.
My two cents.
Jenny
Who never changed her behavior about taking handouts as she went along. Too worried that someone else might really NEED that last handout/brochure.
Another factor was number of handouts available. If there were only a few, say 5 or so, I was less likely to take a handout for fear of shorting someone who really needed one. On the other hand, if it was a spectacular handout such as the "Squeaky Clean and No Caffeine" I'd take it anyway. So style/substance did make a difference. If it was more generic/informative I would leave it if there were only a few.
Lastly, and building on the above if the handouts were branded with the library logo/info in an attractive way I definitely wanted it. I was also fascinated by the different donor type brochures, though few libraries included these items in their general handout racks in the public areas.
In summary:
1. Make your handouts/brochures attractive and give them appealing or catchy names/titles.
2. Locate them in visible areas away from the official service desks.
3. Include the types for making donations/gifts to the library.
My two cents.
Jenny
Who never changed her behavior about taking handouts as she went along. Too worried that someone else might really NEED that last handout/brochure.
Sunday, May 10, 2009
Idaho Library Association Northern Region Meeting
Keynote: Dr. Darin Saul ‘Improving the Sustainability of Your Library’
What I got out of it:
Session 1: Gina Persichini – Rethinking Resource Sharing
What I got out of it:
Session 2: I was teaching this one so …
Session 3: Michael Greenlee – Free Legal Research Tools
What I got out of it:
Review of who produces legal materials
P.S. Answers to legal questions often require using more than one source.
Session 4: Ramirose Attebury – Cultural Stereotypes of Librarians in YouTube Videos
What I got out of it:
Probably the most fun session there, certainly my favorite.
8 stereotypes
To change the image of a profession it is suggested that Parody may be more effective than fun/positive.
Psycho is only found in customer service aspect
For a look at her presentation on slideshare at: http://www.slideshare.net/rosebudy23/librarian-depictions-on-youtube
However, her YouTube video selections are not included. Sorry. Maybe she’ll add that later.
Great conference!
Jenny
What I got out of it:
- Little things can add up to a big difference i.e. reusable bags, turning off lights, energy efficient light bulbs.
- Check out the LEED system for green buildings (http://www.usgbc.org/)
- Change the default power settings on computers to have them hibernate instead of standby.
- Buy energy rated appliances – including copiers
- Minimize use first
- Double sided printing
- Prefer electronic to paper
- Purchase recycled content
- Lease computers so they are recycled by manufacturers instead of purchase
- Sometimes if you have a large or voluminous amount to recycle special arrangements can be made with the recyclers to pick up and deal with it. i.e. big piles of books
Session 1: Gina Persichini – Rethinking Resource Sharing
What I got out of it:
- More availability fewer restrictions
- User choice on format
- Access from anywhere anytime
- Share resources with all types of cultural institutions (i.e. archives, museums…)
- Do we need to catalog ‘expertise’ or maybe keep some kind of log
- Perhaps more Mr.Oboler type delicious accounts for experts in the area
- No findable object should be totally unattainable
- Offer service for a fee rather than refusing service
- See: http://rethinkingresourcesharing.org/manifesto.html
Session 2: I was teaching this one so …
Session 3: Michael Greenlee – Free Legal Research Tools
What I got out of it:
Review of who produces legal materials
- Federal
- State
- City/County/Local
- Judicial
- Executive
- Legislative
- Constitutions
- Statutes
- Case Law
- Regulations
- Practice materials and secondary sources (encyclopedias, treatises, ALR, AmJur, forms…)
- State of Idaho http://www.accessidaho.org/
- Idaho Legislature http://www.legislature.idaho.gov/
- Idaho Judiciary http://www.isc.idaho.gov/
- Court Assistance Office http://www.courtselfhelp.idaho.gov/
- Idaho Administrative Rules http://adm.idaho.gov/adminrules/
- Idaho Administrative Agencies http://idaho.gov/agency/agency_a.html
- Idaho Executive Branch http://www.idaho.gov/government/executive.html
- Idaho Governor http://gov.idaho.gov
- Idaho Attorney General http://www2.state.id.us/ag
- USA.gov http://www.usa.gov
- GPO Access http://thomas.loc.gov
- CRS Reports http://opencrs.com
- U.S. Supreme Court http://www.supremecourtus.gov
- Law Library of Congress http://www.loc.gov/law
- Electronic Information System for International Law (EISIL) http://www.eisil.org/
- Cornel Legal Information Institute http://www.law.cornell.edu
- Findlaw http://lp.findlaw.com/
- LexisOne http://law.lexisnexis.com/webcenters/leixone/
- Georgetown Law Library http://www.ll.georgetown.edu/
- University of Idaho Law Library http://www.law.uidaho.edu/
P.S. Answers to legal questions often require using more than one source.
Session 4: Ramirose Attebury – Cultural Stereotypes of Librarians in YouTube Videos
What I got out of it:
Probably the most fun session there, certainly my favorite.
8 stereotypes
- Old maid
- Policeman
- Inept (socially awkward or bad customer service)
- Hero/heroine
- Parody
- Really fun/Positive
- Sexy
- Psycho
To change the image of a profession it is suggested that Parody may be more effective than fun/positive.
Psycho is only found in customer service aspect
For a look at her presentation on slideshare at: http://www.slideshare.net/rosebudy23/librarian-depictions-on-youtube
However, her YouTube video selections are not included. Sorry. Maybe she’ll add that later.
Great conference!
Jenny
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)